Georgian special forces began dispersing protesters at the parliament building. Law enforcement officials reportedly use batons and water cannons.
On the morning of November 18, representatives of the Georgian opposition blocked the country's parliament building, pitching tents in front of the entrances. The goal is to prevent the deputies of the ruling party “Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia” from going into the building. Several MPs who tried to get to their workplaces this morning, the demonstrators booed and drove away.
On the eve, on Sunday, in front of the main legislative body of the country, a rally of thousands of people took place. Its participants brought tents, and also hung chains and a lock on the gates of the parliament. They are seeking the resignation of the government and early parliamentary elections on a proportional basis.
At the same time, as one of the leaders of the opposition said, the representative of the party “European Georgia - Movement for Freedom” Gigi Ugulava, after the parliament, the opposition can block other government agencies, including the Tbilisi City Hall, ministries and the State Chancellery.
In turn, the leader of the New Georgia party, Georgy Vashadze, said that in addition to the resignation of the current cabinet and the holding of new elections, the opposition will demand the creation of an interim government in the country and the release of the detained participants in the anti-Russian riots that took place in Georgia this summer. Among them is the former Minister of Defense of the country, Irakli Okruashvili, who was arrested for incitement to violence.
Recall, then the reason for the protests was the appearance of the Russian State Duma deputy Sergei Gavrilov in the chair of the speaker of the Georgian parliament during the meeting of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of Orthodoxy (MAP). Due to concerns about the safety of Russian tourists, Moscow has suspended flights with Tbilisi.
In the wake of protests, representatives of the Georgian opposition demanded that the government make concessions in domestic politics. And the leadership of Georgia went to them. The founder of the "Georgian Dream" Bidzina Ivanishvili promised to hold elections in 2020 according to a proportional system with a zero barrier of passage. Another demand of the protesters was satisfied - the resignation of speaker Irakli Kobakhidze.
Stopped Reform
New opposition protests began in Georgia on November 14 after parliament was unable to pass constitutional amendments to introduce a proportional electoral system. Earlier, the elections to the legislative assembly were held according to a mixed system, and it was the deputies from the "Georgian Dream" elected in the majority districts who rejected the bill. At the same time, it was developed by the ruling party itself. Oppositionists accused the "Georgian Dream" and personally Bidzina Ivanishvili of deceit. Several deputies, including vice speaker of parliament Tamara Chugoshvili, left the ruling majority.
In turn, Ivanishvili blamed the United National Movement party, founded by ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili. The supposedly unconstructive position of these parliamentarians thwarted attempts to gain support for electoral reform by the majority deputies.
Mikheil Saakashvili himself did not stand aside and called on his supporters to “mobilize”.
The US Embassy in Tbilisi also called negatively on the failure of the electoral reform, calling for the adoption of the necessary amendments.
"We are disappointed that in the course of today's vote, despite the support of opposition parties, an insufficient number of deputies from the Georgian Dream party supported the adoption of the necessary constitutional amendments," the US embassy said in a statement. “We urge all stakeholders in Georgia, including the government, all political parties and civil society, to work together, while maintaining calm and respect, to ensure progress in line with our common commitment to strengthening democracy in Georgia.”
In turn, Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger (Illinois), co-chair of Kokus (Political Association. - RT ) in Georgia , commenting on the events in Tbilisi, said that " Georgians want a government of the people, controlled by the people and for the people."
“They want the government to be more closely connected with the West and that Georgia be recognized as a NATO ally. The failure of the adoption of constitutional amendments will be a gift to Vladimir Putin and will destroy the progress made by Georgia in gaining full independence and separation from the aggressive neighbor encroaching on its territory in the person of Russia, ”the American congressman emphasized.
According to media reports, Russia was frightened by fellow citizens and one of the organizers of parliamentary demonstrations - Giga Makarashvili, a representative of the Shameful youth movement. He noted that the protests give the Georgians a chance "not to go in the direction of Russia."
As Georgian political scientist Archil Chkoidze noted in an interview with RT, the question of the form of the electoral system does not really matter for the alignment of political forces in the country.
“For the opposition, it does not make any difference whether the election system will be proportional or majority. I think this is just an excuse. They want to somehow start the revolutionary process in Georgia. If there wasn’t this reason, we would have found another, ”Chkoidze said.
- Bidzina Ivanishvili
- Reuters
- © David Mdzinarishvili
Disconnected opposition
A demand for early parliamentary elections was made by about 20 Georgian parties. Such diverse political forces as the United National Movement Saakashvili, European Georgia, United Georgia Nino Burjanadze, the Labor Party of Georgia, the breakaway party from the Georgian Dream in May, and the libertarian party For Justice and the libertarian party united in a united front. Girchi ”, which achieved decriminalization of marijuana use in Georgia last year. All of them united against the “Georgian Dream” and personally Bidzina Ivanishvili.
However, not all opposition members have joined this union. So, on Sunday, when a protest rally was held in front of the parliament, a separate manifestation - on the square of the First Republic - was held by the Alliance of Patriots of Georgia Party.
According to police, if 5.5 thousand people came to parliament, then 1.5 thousand people went to the Alliance of Patriots rally. However, the organizers claim that in fact there were several times more protesters. The Alliance rally ended on Sunday evening, promising to start protests in the regions and hold a large-scale rally in Tbilisi by the end of November.
The Alliance of Patriots, which received 5% of the vote in the last election, is known for its skepticism about Georgia’s membership in NATO. The protests of this organization were also supported by the Georgian Movement right-wing movement, which stated that only the actions of the Alliance of Patriots "meet the interests of the Georgian nation." One of the leaders of the “Georgian March” Sandro Bregadze said that the “executioners” from the parties of Gigi Bokeria (“European Georgia) and Saakashvili are behind the rally.” Also, according to him, representatives of the movement cannot stand in the same ranks as “LGBT activists, liberal sorosists” at the parliament building for moral reasons.
As Andrei Suzdaltsev, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of World Economy and World Politics at the HSE, noted in an interview with RT, in fact, both the authorities and most of the opposition in Georgia are equally pro-Western.
“The difference is in radicalism. There is more radicalism in the opposition, less in the ruling circles. Oppositionists expect that when parliament is formed according to a proportional system, they will be able to achieve victory and take the majority. But early elections are possible only with the help of Washington. This will not be determined by Georgian voters, ”said Suzdaltsev.
- Protesters blocked Georgian parliament
- © Vano SHLAMOV / AFP
Possible consequences
On November 17, the chairman of the Georgian Dream faction Mamuka Mdinaradze said that the 2020 elections will be held, as before, according to a mixed system. So far, the Georgian leadership has not shown a desire to yield to the demands of the opposition. In turn, at a briefing on Monday, Tbilisi Mayor, General Secretary of the “Georgian Dream” Kakha Kaladze announced that his party would not go to early elections, and urged the opposition to prepare for the elections scheduled for next year. He also said that Mikhail Saakashvili and his supporters, seeking to return to power, are behind the protests.
Meanwhile, the US and EU missions urged participants in political processes in Georgia to engage in dialogue. At the same time, their joint statement emphasizes that the reason for the protests was the failure to fulfill the promise of the ruling party to switch to a proportional system and the US and EU embassies support the right of Georgian citizens to peaceful demonstrations.
The need to find a common language between representatives of the authorities and the opposition was previously announced by Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili.
As the ex-speaker of the Georgian parliament Nino Burjanadze noted in an interview with RIA Novosti, street protests in Tbilisi could lead to negative consequences for the country if Ivanishvili does not make concessions.
“I am very concerned about where the street protests will go. Such events can result in something spontaneous and dangerous, ”the Georgian politician emphasized.
In turn, the Georgian businessman Levan Vasadze, known for actions against LGBT people, in which representatives of the “Georgian March” take an active part, said in a video message to fellow citizens that Georgia needed a “people's revolution”. However, according to him, there is a danger that the United States will remove Ivanishvili and “return even worse liberals” to power.
According to Archil Chkoidze, despite statements about the unification of the Georgian opposition, the rallies on November 17 showed a rather insignificant mobilization potential of the opposition.
“Yesterday, the Georgian parliament building had a maximum of five thousand people. At the same time, people were brought from the regions. Now there are a maximum of 200-300 people, and they are blocking the Georgian parliament. There is no real protest inside the country, about four million people live in all of Georgia, and a maximum of five thousand people come out to protest. This is very small, ”the expert emphasized.
According to him, even if the authorities announce early elections, then “Georgian Dream” will still take 30-40%.
“And the Alliance of Patriots of Georgia will also collect at least 10-15%. “The United National Movement” together with its satellites will be able to take a maximum of 15-20%, but they already have so much, they still sit in parliament, ”Chkoidze notes.
At the same time, the political scientist warns that if the opposition protest receives financial and organizational support from the West, then difficult times will come for the Georgian authorities.
“There is no revolutionary movement inside Georgia, nobody in Georgia wants a revolution, because everyone remembers well what the revolutionary events in the 1990s and then in 2003 led to,” the Georgian political scientist emphasizes. - But if the ultra-liberal forces from the West will finance the protest and intervene in the affairs of Georgia, then I do not think that the Georgian authorities will be able to cope with them. Then maybe there will be problems. And if not, then after 2-3 days no parliament will remain. ”
Moreover, according to the expert, the protests are unlikely to seriously spoil relations between Tbilisi and Moscow, although "any instability and problems in the state will somehow affect".
- A meeting at the Georgian parliament on November 17
- © Vano Shlamov / AFP
According to Andrei Suzdaltsev, it is important to monitor the US reaction to developments in Georgia. Rhetoric in favor of the opposition may be a sign that Washington has decided to bet on a change of power, although now, according to the political scientist, Georgia is not of particular interest to the Donald Trump administration. At the same time, according to the expert, a hypothetical rise to power of the opposition can worsen relations between Georgia and Russia.
“We understand that the opposition is a radical anti-Russian leader. And if they come to power, then, in general, bad relations with Georgia will deteriorate even more, ”says Andrey Suzdaltsev.